Police Seeking Speed Cameras for Two Princess Anne School Zones

Posted:
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 6:23 PM EDT

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Speeds cameras in school zones across Somerset County are common, but not in Princess Anne. Local police want to change that.

Princess Anne Police Chief Scott Keller said there are no speed cameras in school zones across town. Two of the town's elementary schools are anchored just footsteps away from a busy Route 13; that is one of two locations that police want to install a camera.

Greenwood and Princess Anne Elementary Schools sit pretty close to Route 13. Chief Keller said Greenwood is just 243 feet from the roadway.

Town-owned streets, including the roads by the schools, have speed limits of 25 miles per hour. However, Chief Keller says some drivers travel much faster.

"When we have open streets such as Hampden Avenue, we've had speeds as high as 50 miles per hour going down there," Keller said.

"If you're going 12 miles per hour or over, that's the only way you get a ticket; so, 12 miles an hour is a substantial amount over when you're within a half-mile of schools, especially when you have kids walking to school or being transported by a bus," he said.

Martel Veney walks through town a lot. He said traffic near Route 13 makes him a little uneasy.

Chief Keller said the town only has one automated speed enforcement (ASE) camera. It is hunkered down on Hampden Avenue. Police want to move it to Somerset Avenue near Main Street and have another camera installed along Route 13 near Stewart Neck Road.

The Maryland State Highway Administration must grant a permit before that happens. Gee Williams, the spokesperson for the agency, said a town must meet certain criteria. Williams said the school must face the road where a camera is installed. He said a traffic engineering study, on how children get to and from school, must be conducted. If a school is unprotected, meaning no fencing or barrier, then it also qualifies for a school camera.

Chief Keller said the department needs more time to get information and studies together before submitting a request. He said the cameras would be “no cost to the town” as citations would fund the cost.

Williams said the SHA approved ASE cameras for three school zone locations September 4, 2012. Those locations were: Somerset Ave. and Washington Street, Somerset Ave. and Hampden Avenue, and Somerset Ave. and South Street, but only one was used.

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